La Russa said there wasn't a single factor that led to his decision,
but he began having doubts about returning for 2012 midway through the
season. In late August he told general manager John Mozeliak and other
team officials.

La Russa said the timing of those discussions --
about the time the Cardinals appeared to be out of wild card contention
before their miraculous run -- was pure coincidence. He said he simply
felt it was time to go, a feeling that didn't change even as the
Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs on the final day of the season,
then upset the Phillies, Brewers and Rangers.

He spoke with little
emotion at the news conference with one exception, when he paused to
compose himself as he thanked his wife, Elaine, and two daughters for
putting up without him over much of the past 33 years. But he did say
his meeting with players after Sunday's parade and celebration was short
but emotional.

LaRussa finishes his career third on the all-time managerial wins list, and having won three World Series titles. And the 2011 crown was as unexpected (by the experts) as any team since, perhaps, the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat LaRussa's Oakland Athletics in five games.

I noted in the title of this post that it is supposed to be an appreciation for a man I'm not sure I liked. Allow me to explain.

As you might know, I covered sports in Los Angeles from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s before exiting the journalism industry for the first time in order to get my Master's degree. That period overlapped a good chunk of LaRussa's success in Oakland, where he won three straight American League championships from 1988 through 1990.

LaRussa's A's were, therefore, one that consistently drew media attention, and that attention ensured that my freelance opportunities when they visited southern California were plentiful. LaRussa was, in my opinion, somewhat arrogant. My sense then was that he had little time for the media, save for those few who covered the team on an everyday basis.

Needless to say, LaRussa was not someone I admired all that much. When he went to St. Louis, a team that wasn't a personal favorite, the respect meter didn't go up.

Of course, I eventually left the journalism industry and opted for a career in higher education. Therefore, whatever thoughts I had about LaRussa were irrelevant; like him or not, I didn't have to deal with him.

And then came the 2011 post-season. You would be correct in assuming I wanted the Cardinals to lose to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers. But something happened at some point in the playoffs.

No, I wasn't rooting for the Cardinals, but I found myself respecting, admiring and appreciating LaRussa's managerial talents in ways I had not before. And when the final out was recorded, and LaRussa ripped off his glasses before hugging one of his coaches, I smiled.

Yes, I was happy, genuinely happy, for him.

And so LaRussa goes out as only few people in professional sports can -- on top and on his terms. Good for him. May he enjoy decades of time with his wife and daughters, the people who have always been the most important in his life.

The Los Angeles Times provides more details on today's announcement from the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The first of three televised debates will be on Oct. 3 at the University
of Denver. A town hall meeting-style debate will be held on Oct. 16 at
Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. The final meeting, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., will be on Oct. 22 -- just two weeks before Election Day on Nov. 6.

The vice presidential nominees
will debate only once, on Oct. 11 at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

The
non-profit Commission, which has organized the debates since 1987, has
also set criteria for participation. A candidate must appear on enough
state ballots to mathematically be able to reach the 270 electoral votes
required to win, and also poll at at least 15% of the national
electorate in five major public polls.

The full format for each debate, along with the moderators, will be announced in 2012.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has offered a forceful defense to a Politico report suggesting he sexual harassed two women while he was president of the National Restaurant Association.

Politico sent the following news alert at 11:36 a.m. EDT:

Herman Cain said he was "falsely accused" of sexual harassment while he
was CEO of the National Restaurant Association but said he had no
knowledge of any settlements paid to his accusers during a Fox News
interview Monday morning.

"It is totally baseless and totally false," Cain said. "Never have I ever committed any kind of sexual harassment."

He
added: "If the restaurant association did a settlement, I wasn't even
aware of it and I hope it wasn't for much. If there was a settlement, it
was handled by some of the other officers at the restaurant
association."

The question for Cain now is not whether this story hurts him (it
does), but how badly he is damaged by it and whether his presidential
campaign, which was already showing signs of losing the rocket-like
momentum he had built over the past month, can sustain.

“The story
has been floating around for a long time, but [I] don’t know any of the
details,” said Sal Russo, a California-based Republican consultant with
close ties to the tea party movement. “I have heard it both ways about
whether it was anything egregious. So (we) have to wait and see.”

While
the first reaction from the Cain campaign isn’t a bad strategic move —
try to turn the story into the latest episode of the mainstream media
having it out for a conservative — the detailed nature of the Politico
article will make it tough for him to simply stand by that first
statement.

At some point — and that point is likely very soon —
Cain is going to have to issue a public accounting that makes clear to
reasonable people that these allegations were spurious and without
merit. In the absence of such proof, rhetoric alone is very unlikely to
save him from a flurry of questions asking for more information about
the allegation. And the fewer answers he has, the more questions will
get asked.

For now, Mr. Cain has offered that firm defense. However, I doubt we've read/heard/seen the last of the story. Inevitably another news organization will attempt to uncover more details of the allegations or seek to identify other women who claim to have been harassed by Mr. Cain.

In four early primary states, according to recent CNN polls,Romney
significantly outperformed Cain with female Republicans in every
contest save South Carolina. In Iowa, where the two contenders are
statistically tied, Romney took 28 percent of female voters and Cain got
17.

These issues are, in my opinion, more important than a near 20-year-old sexual harassment case, unless the sexual harassment identified by Politico is the top of a larger character iceberg that has yet to be uncovered.

Ultimately, however, the question of the Euro and the European
financial system comes to rest with France. The whole process of
containing the problems of weak European economies depends on there
being enough financially strong countries to pay for the bailouts. And
equally important, there has to be a widely held belief in common
European interests. France is essential to both those things.

It’s increasingly clear that Europe is developing into two economic
blocs with diverging destinies. On one side is Germany and some smaller
countries – such as the Netherlands, Austria and Finland – that have
similarly strong economies. On the other side are Greece, Spain, Italy
and all the other countries facing severe debt problems.

The wealthier countries see less and less reason to keep paying for bailouts. Most have growing right-wing movements opposed to subsidizing the poorer countries
in the Euro currency zone. And even among more mainstream political
parties in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Finland, there is
skepticism about the Euro. What keeps them engaged is the perception
that there is a broad European constituency for the common currency. And
that broad constituency is largely built around the partnership between
France and Germany on which the entire European Union was founded.

Perhaps the most revealing insight into the challenge that Europe
faces was provided by President Sarkozy in a TV interview when he got
back to France. He spoke candidly, telling the French people that "we
have entered a new world". France, he implied, had to become more like
Germany.

"We spend too much and we must work more," he said. The
French social model could only be defended if tough measures were
adopted. I recall the strikes and disruption when the French retirement
age was increased from 60 to 62. Will France be ready for this new
world?

The G-20 leaders convene Nov. 3-4 in Cannes,
France, a week after euro-area authorities pledged to magnify the
capacity of their rescue fund to 1 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) and
look beyond their borders for help in doing so as they combat the debt
turmoil posing the biggest threat to global growth.

While the help of China and cooperation of the
International Monetary Fund were immediately sought, pledges of hard
cash are proving hard to come by as G-20 members press for more details
of the plan. In an indication Europe may eventually prevail, Brazilian
and Russian officials said their governments may be willing to provide
assistance.

“Unless European leaders can flesh out some of
these details very quickly, it’s hard to see the rest of the G-20 coming
on board with very great enthusiasm,” said Eswar Prasad, a senior
fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former IMF
economist.

And let's not forget that looming over whatever policies President Sarkozy advances is the recognition that he is trailing in the polls and facing a tough uphill battle as he seeks re-election in just six months.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

2nd UPDATE: 11:08 p.m. EDT: Let's continue to examine the Politico report (and I apologize for the delay in getting such responses tonight; the computer I principally use at home was running slowly and periodically dropping its Internet signal. I am now on another computer.), asking whether almost 20-year-old allegations of sexual harassment qualify as news.

Let's be honest before we say anything more: If Mr. Cain were a low-in-the-polls Republican presidential candidate, then no news organization would be taking the time to investigate his personal life. Instead, he's at or near the top of almost every poll, and that ensures scrutiny that will not follow the second- or third-tier candidates.

And that gets us closer to the crux of this issue: Should the public care about such a story? Unless I am mistaken, Mr. Cain has never discussed himself in terms of perfect, holier-than-thou or otherwise the ideal man. Thus, there is no Gary Hart moment here; Mr. Cain did not challenge the media to find out something dirty about him.

In the media environment in which Politico operates, the necessity to at times skate on that fine edge of tabloid-esque cheap entertainment is there. Such stories generate eyeballs and public interest. Nevertheless, I'm not comfortable using the "well, if we didn't get this story, one of our competitors would have" defense. To me, that's akin to the question children are often asked: "Well, if your friends jump off the bridge and into the river, are you going to do it, too?"

A strong assumption also can be made here that someone (or more than one person) who dislikes Mr. Cain is attempting to play "gotcha." The possible reasons why could number into the dozens, but for our purposes let's say that if "gotcha" is indeed happening, then we have yet another reason to question how much of a story this really is.

I suggested in my original post, and I stand by these words, that Mr. Cain will continue to be dogged by the media about this issue. (Let's set aside whether he should; we already know that answer.) He will have to make a full and complete statement about it, and that likely will have to happen soon.

However, the limited amount of information in the Politico report also should put the onus on the news organization to more fully explain how the story developed, how its information was generated and whether it believes it is being fair to Mr. Cain.

I accept what someone reading this is thinking -- Politico doesn't have to defend itself; it is reporting a "true" story. That's true, but that's not good enough.

1st UPDATE: 10:49 p.m. EDT: Is Politico's approach to its report about Mr. Cain and the allegations of sexual harassment ethical? Al Tompkins from Poynter sends the following tweet:re Cain: Is it fair to report allegations of two women when you don't name them, no charges filed? Can he fight that?

Calling the story "thinly source allegations," Cain spokesman J.D.
Gordon said: "Since Washington establishment critics haven't had much
luck in attacking Mr. Cain's ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs,
they are trying to attack him in any way they can." Gordon did not
address any of the specific allegations in the report. Asked for a more
specific answer, the campaign did not provide details.

Let's set aside the attack on Politico by the Cain campaign; such responses are expected and they tell us very little.

On the other hand, there is a legitimate question that should have been asked when this post was made -- is Politico being fair to Mr. Cain?

I've seen no report denying that Mr. Cain was the central figure in the scandal, if such a word can be used in this case. Nor is there any denial that something unpleasant didn't happen. However, if we assume that the women who made the claims were not one of the sources (and that's only a presumption at this point), then comes the tricky question: Who are the "multiple sources" that Politico used to generate this story?

The general practice in the journalism industry is to use anonymous sources in limited situations -- one of them being that the individual's personal safety or professional status could be compromised. Based on the language in the Politico report (you can access it below in the ORIGINAL POST), it is apparent that the authors wanted to protect the identities of their sources, going as far in many cases of not hinting at their gender.

In such situations, the reporter must present the information to his or her boss with an explanation as to why the source's name cannot be used. The supervisor typically will verify the information and then involve others -- including the news agency's attorneys -- in making the final decision about allowing the sources to go unnamed.

What's peculiar is that no one's safety or job status would appear to be under threat here -- whatever took place did so more than 15 years ago, and none of the principal players involved are necessarily denying it.

Moreover, the confidentiality agreement (or whatever it was called at the time) precludes the women from discussing it. Keep in mind that the women are not being asked to violate that contract stipulation because Mr. Cain is accused of some deeper, darker crime. In fact, he's not accused of anything -- except for sexually harassing two women in the mid-1990s.

What I'm building here is a scenario that suggests the anonymity of everyone involved can be justifiably questioned.

During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant
Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to
colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior
by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple
sources confirm to POLITICO.

The women complained of sexually
suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the
sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that
gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements
also included language that bars the women from talking about their
departures.

In a series of comments over the past 10 days, Cain and
his campaign repeatedly declined to respond directly about whether he
ever faced allegations of sexual harassment at the restaurant
association. They have also declined to address questions about specific
reporting confirming that there were financial settlements in two cases
in which women leveled complaints.

POLITICO has confirmed the identities of the two female restaurant
association employees who complained about Cain but, for privacy
concerns, is not publishing their names.

Mr. Cain will be dogged by the content of the Politico report. At some point he will have to address the issue of sexual harassment fully and carefully. Considering that he is right now that he is at or close to the top in many polls, he cannot hide.

With just one week left in the 2011 Canadian Football League season, five of the league's eight teams have the same record, the playoff picture is a jumble, the bottom-feeders aren't going down without a fight and all four games this week are critical.

So, buckle up and get ready for an exciting finish to the regular season.

Here are this week's power rankings (with last week's ranking in parentheses):

British Columbia (3), 10-7. They're back! On top of the power
rankings, that is. Nine wins over their past 10 games plus ownership of all tiebreakers have the Lions in line to win the west. Week 19 vs Montreal.

Edmonton (1), 10-7. Yes, they lost to the Lions, but the Esks still have a chance to be division champs or to host a divisional semifinal. Week 19 vs Saskatchewan.

I've finally come to see that the polarizing people on the left and the right are correct.

No, America doesn't need any moderate voices. We need strong, determined and conviction-laden people who can out-shout, out-yell, out-pander and out-smart the other side.

To move America forward, you need to guarantee your and your organization's continuous presence on FOX or MSNBC, and you can only do that by being LOUD, OBNOXIOUS and WILLING TO DEMEAN SOMEONE ELSE!

Bring it on! I'm ready!

You win only by ensuring that you never offer the slightest hint of bring weak, and you definitely never win by being open-minded.

I can be that person!

Moving forward, therefore, I must choose one side or the other in this battle of wills and intelligence. I cannot succumb to any thoughts that the other side has any good ideas. I can then use my blog to be snarky toward the other side (hey, there are nothing by idiots on that side!).

If you have the courage to call someone a weak-kneed, wimpy liberal who is committed to destroying American values, then I either stand up and yell "rock on!" or inject one of those snarky comments. I might even yell something like "get the hell out of your tent and go get a job!"

If you have the guts to call someone a racist, radical conservative who is ready to kill the poor at a moment's notice, then I either stand up and yell "rock on!" or inject one of those snarky comments. I might even yell something like "you Tea Party racist swine!"

Perched atop the U.S. Embassy in Beijing is a device about the size of a microwave oven that spitsout hourly rebukes to the Chinese government.

It is a machine thatmonitors fine particulate matter, one of the most dangerous components of air pollution, and instantly posts the results to Twitter and a dedicated iPhone application, where it is frequently picked up by Chinese bloggers.

One day this month, the reading was so high compared with the standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that it was listed as "beyond index." In other words, it had soared right off the chart.

"You couldn't get such a high level in the United States unless you were
downwind from a forest fire," said Dane Westerdahl, an air quality
expert from Cornell University.

But China's own assessment that day, Oct. 9, was that Beijing'sair wasmerely "slightly polluted."

Tiny particulate matter known as PM2.5
– which is linked to lung disease, heart attacks and atmospheric haze –
will be added to a list of air quality indicators in an upcoming
revision of national standards, the Chinese media reported on Monday.

These
ultra-fine particles account for more than half the weight of
industrial dust in the air of northern China, according to the Jinhua
Daily. Until now, their absence from the national pollution
index created an absurd discrepancy between official claims of "blue
sky" conditions and the reality of air so putrid and murky it could be
tasted.

"At present, the public's feelings about air quality are
different from the monitoring data," environment vice-minister Zhou Jian
acknowledged during a speech at a recent forum. "To prevent haze, we
will improve the air quality standards as soon as possible and include
PM2.5."

Herman Cain and Mitt Romney are the twin towers of the new Iowa Poll
of likely Republican caucusgoers, with the Georgia businessman at 23
percent and the former Massachusetts governor at 22 percent.

Cain has surged since the last Iowa Poll in June, when he was at 10
points. Romney, on the other hand, has held steady — a rather
remarkable feat, since he’s campaigned in Iowa only three days this
year. Cain for that matter has been back in the Hawkeye State just once
since the mid-August Iowa Straw Poll.

One week later, the New Hampshire primary takes place; and in that state, Mr. Cain and Mr. Romney are again well ahead of field, though it is more precise to say that Mr. Romney is far out in front in that state.

She’s fallen to 3.8 percent in national polls of prospective GOP voters, according to the RealClearPolitics rolling average. That puts her dangerously close to the Santorum Line – the 2 percent threshold, from which a campaign teeters over the abyss.

She’s
no longer doing well in Iowa, either, which for her might be even worse
news than her national numbers. Her flavor-of-the-month period began
after her win in the Ames straw poll. She was born in Iowa, comes from a
nearby state, and has made Iowa the strategic focus of her campaign.
But at the moment she’s in sixth place in Iowa, too, with only about 7
percent of the potential Iowa caucus vote.

But is she hurting the tea party as a whole? There’s no evidence of that at all.

The rest of the Republican field right now is simply hurting, and there is little evidence to suggest that any of them -- Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum or Jon Huntsman -- can craft a message that will turn around their fortunes.

A delegation of US-based energy companies, including Peabody Energy Corp, Kress Corp, Jupiter Oxygen Corp and Caterpillar Global Mining Greater China and Korea, a division of Caterpillar Inc, led by US Commerce Department officials, came to China in late October to seek partnerships with Chinese businesses.

"US companies on this trade mission represent some of the latest and most innovative technologies in the coal mining sector," said Suresh Kumar, assistant commerce secretary for trade promotion and director-general of the US Foreign Commercial Service, at the International Coal Summit 2011 on Thursday in Beijing.

"The best selling is not only about the products" but also the needs of customers, said Kumar. "Safety equipment is what the Chinese mining industry needs, and the US has the best safety record in the sector."

The Korean company passed both Apple and Nokia in sheer number of
shipments, up 44 percent from last quarter, and four times as many sales
as last year, according to Reuters. Samsung's smartphone lines make up for 60 percent of the company's profit.

In comparison, Apple sold 17.1 million iPhones and Nokia Corp. -- still
the world's leader in mobile phone sales -- shipped out 16.8 million
smartphones, reports News 24.

According to the Times of India,
analysts say these numbers do not reflect Apple losing its edge, since
the iPhone 4S arrived after the end of the third quarter, and many
people waited to buy their iPhones until the new model's release earlier
this month. Apple reported selling more than 4 million new iPhones in
its first weekend, but those numbers are not reflected this quarter.

Examining the aforementioned Reuters' story a bit more closely, Samsung's ascendancy to the top of the sales charts is impressive.

Samsung (005930.KS)
only entered the smartphone market in earnest last year, but its sales
have skyrocketed thanks to a sleek production system that rapidly brings
new products to market. Apple (AAPL.O) introduced its first iPhone in 2007.

"In
the handset division, Samsung has no real rival models to challenge its
products except for the iPhone 4S. Apple and Samsung will continue to
dominate the market in the fourth quarter," said Kim Hyun-joong, a fund
manager at Midas Asset Management, which owns Samsung shares.

So,
let's see if I have this correct: To the right, the Occupy Movement is
made up of a bunch of liberal, lazy and idiotic people. To the left, the
Tea Party is made up of a bunch of hate-filled possible racists
determined to kill the poor.

Let's see what kind of
dialogue is possible from that.

I don't care what you think of the Occupy Movement or the Tea Party. Your opinion is yours, and I'm not going to persuade you to change your mind. However, I am going to remind you that if you fall into either of the camps mentioned above, then you are committed to weaken the democratic system in this country.

Air France cancelled 20 percent of its scheduled flights Saturday due
to a strike by cabin crew expected to last five days, including a major
national holiday.

Some 200 out of 1,000 scheduled flights were
cancelled, a company spokeswoman told AFP, after two of three unions
representing flight attendants called the action to protest plans to
reduce the number of crew on each flight.

In a statement published
on its website, Air France said that "its customers are being held
hostage by a five-day strike for which there is no reason."

Granted, Air France is trying to gain public-relations leverage, but the use of the term "hostage" is, in my opinion, a poor one. That strategy needs to be reconsidered.

China
has made its first supercomputer based on Chinese microprocessor chips,
an advance that surprised high-performance computing specialists in the
United States.

The announcement was made this week at a technical meeting held in
Jinan, China, organized by industry and government organizations. The
new machine, the Sunway BlueLight MPP, was installed in September at the
National Supercomputer Center in Jinan, the capital of Shandong
Province in eastern China.

The Sunway system, which can perform about 1,000 trillion calculations
per second — a petaflop — will probably rank among the 20 fastest
computers in the world. More significantly, it is composed of 8,700
ShenWei SW1600 microprocessors, designed at a Chinese computer institute
and manufactured in Shanghai.

The computer is power-efficient, consuming a megawatt of power when
running, compared to seven megawatts for the US's fastest computer,
Jaguar, which is capable of 1.7 petaflops. This is partly due to an
advanced water cooling system.

Official details are scarce, though slides surfaced on Chinese IT news
site IT168.com which gave more detail and were translated by Hung-Sheng
Tsao, founder of HopBit GridComputing, on his blog.

According to the slides, which appear to be from a presentation
describing the computer's capabilities, the ShenWei Sunway BlueLight MPP
has 150TB of main storage and 2PB of external storage. Each ShenWei
SW1600 processor is 64-bit, has 16-cores and is RISC-based.

As mentioned above, the bashers and fear-mongers who relish ripping China at every turn are sure to jump on this latest news to bolster their contention that China will stop at nothing in its effort at world domination. Spare me the rhetoric.

What follows in no particular order are reflections from the 2011 Major League Baseball season, or a hint as to what next season might bring.

1. The Cardinals are left for dead in August; they hoist the World Championship trophy in October

2. The Rangers came so very close to winning a championship; one is left to wonder if they can recover to make another title run in 2012.

3. The Phillies have taken a step backward for three consecutive seasons (lost World Series in 2009; lost National League Championship Series in 2010; lost in divisional round of playoffs in 2011) and that leaves some interesting questions for 2012.

4. The Tigers' Justin Verlander is capable of throwing a no-hitter every time he takes the mound; right now, he is the best pitcher in baseball.

5. The Braves look young and hungry, but they've not learned how to win.

6. The Red Sox' collapse was brought about by injuries and egos, but the
tried and true philosophy of blaming the manager nevertheless happened.

7. If Prince Fielder has played his final season in Milwaukee, he did all he could to get his team to the World Series.

8. Baseball is still not relevant in Baltimore.

9. Dysfunctional describes the Mets' front office.

10. If there is a team capable of challenging the Tigers for the top spot in the American League Central, then it resides in Cleveland.

11. Double dysfunctional describes the owner of the Dodgers.

12. The Mariners might not be chartering the waters of the American League West's basement for long.

13. The Pirates offered glimmers of hope for four months.

14. The Blue Jays might be ready to make a move in the American League East.

15. The Cubs are close to rock bottom, but there is hope because of the division in which they play.

16. The Yankees will buy, buy, buy until they get that championship.

17. The "Lastros' could be there for a few years.

18. The Angels are prepared to take advantage of any slippage shown by Texas.

19. The Giants rely too much on their pitching.

20. The Royals remain a "wait-till-next-year" club.

21. The Marlins head into a new home with more questions than answers.

22. The Athletics are synonymous with anonymous.

23. The Reds look ready to move up...or down.

24. The Twins bottomed out; the climb back will not be quick or easy.

25. The Padres are the National League version of the Athletics.

26. The Rays appear to be living on borrowed time; playing in the worst stadium in the majors doesn't help.

27. The Rockies are likely to make noise in 2012.

28. The White Sox will be boring in 2012, and that's good.

29. The Nationals' front office continues to be aggressive; doubts remain as to whether it has a plan.

The league and the players appeared to make some progress over the past couple days, but once the conversation turned to the principal stumbling block -- the shared percentage of basketball-related income (BRI) -- the talks broke off.

At the risk of oversimplifying the arguments, the players insist that they receive 52.5 percent of BRI, and the league appears to refuse to go higher than a 50-50 split.

As I understand it, the 2.5 percent gap equals $200-million per year for the players.

You are welcomed to blame one side or the other, or you can scoff at what is taking place because you are not a fan of professional basketball. But that misses an important element.

Keep in mind that every home game that is played involves people who make a few dollars (and that is not a sarcastic term) as ticket takers, ushers, concession-stand operators and more. Those hard-working people don't have the luxury of an escrow account (such as the players do) or deep pockets (as the owners do).

Yes, I realize that other events take place in these arenas. That still misses the point. Let's assume that each basketball team loses 5 home games in November and that every one of the aforementioned people are paid $100 each night. They suddenly are out $500 by the end of November.

Go ahead and cut $500 from your take-home take. See how you react.

And spare me the insensitive comments that "well, they should find better jobs" or that "I'm supposed to care about them, why?"

Smooth talk doesn't change the reality -- a journalist does not inject himself or herself into an on-going story. I could care less if this woman was on her own time, blowing off steam or simply interested in protesting. You cannot do that and also consider yourself an impartial observer to what is taking place.

Indeed, as she suggests in her essay, there is a valuable lesson here.

“If we want to defend the French social model,” Mr. Sarkozy said,
striking an almost fatherly tone, “we will need to take the necessary
measures.”

Six months before a re-election campaign that has yet to formally begin,
Mr. Sarkozy — his popularity at an all-time low — painted a pessimistic
tableau of slowing economic growth and deeper spending cuts aimed at
shoring up France’s credibility with financial markets. And while he did
not directly take aim at his main Socialist opponent, François
Hollande, he dismissed popular keystones of past Socialist governments,
including the 35-hour work week and retirement at age 60, as untenable
vestiges of a pre-crisis era that would only complicate France’s efforts
to revive economic growth.

“We will have to revise and adapt our budget plan to the new reality,”
Mr. Sarkozy told an estimated 12 million viewers as he revealed that his
government had lowered its forecast for gross domestic product growth
next year to 1 percent from a previous outlook of 1.75 percent. To
compensate for an anticipated decline in 2012 tax revenues, he said he
would announce a program of budget cuts of between €6 billion, or $8.5
billion, and €8 billion by mid-November.

With an opinion poll last week showing him at 36 per cent compared to Socialist presidential candidate François Hollande’s 64 per cent, Sarkozy tried to grab a little glory from Thursday’s eurozone deal.

"If the euro had exploded last night, all of Europe would have
exploded," he said. “If Greece had defaulted, there would have been a
domino effect carrying everyone away. If there had not been an agreement
last night, it was not just Europe that would have sunk into
catastrophe, it was the whole world."

"This move by West Virginia does not come as a surprise," Big East
commissioner John Marinatto said in a statement Friday. "League
officials, members of our conference and the candidate schools to whom
we have been talking were aware of this possibility. We have taken West
Virginia's possible departure into account as we have moved forward
with our own realignment plans."

Marinatto also said Friday that
West Virginia is aware that the conference will enforce the 27-month
notification period to leave the Big East -- the same rule applied to
Pittsburgh and Syracuse, who have agreed to join the Atlantic Coast
Conference.

The Big 12, however, seems to think West Virginia will come to the conference sooner than 27 months.

In
a news release Friday announcing the addition of West Virginia, the Big
12 said that "beginning with the 2012-13 season it is expected that the
Big 12 will be comprised of 10 universities -- Baylor, Iowa State,
Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech
and West Virginia." Missouri was not included in the release.

ACC commissioner John Swofford told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that the ACC
was ready to take Pitt and Syracuse as soon as the two could join the
conference.

...the Big East has never been this desperate. Houston, Central
Florida, SMU, Air Force, Navy, and anyone else the Big East might
collaborate with in the coming days—not a lot of Q rating there.
Certainly, not a lot of shared tradition.

The Big East continues to walk a line between catering to potential
members and ignoring its current membership, and that could be
dangerous.

Louisville AD Tom Jurich openly admitted to CardinalSports.comthat
his school had “a lot of interaction” with the Big 12 and that West
Virginia “won” what for now appears to have been that conference’s only
available spot. Does that sound like an AD who’s happily marching into
the future with the Big East?

Meanwhile, Jurich’s iconic basketball coach, Rick Pitino, singled
out one of Louisville’s league mates in surprisingly frank, and not
exactly flattering, terms. Pitino told ESPN that he’d had a one-on-one discussion with Marinatto and told him “the only school that would leave now if it could is Connecticut. They want to go to the ACC. So plan for that.”

Already sarcastically referred to in many quarters as "The Big Least", the Big East might also be dubbed "The Biggest Loser" in the reshaped college athletics landscape. Keeping Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia because of a contractual obligation is not a sound strategy.

Until now, handicapping for next year's presidential election has focused on how President Obama might fare in a two-candidate race. Could Obama beat Mitt Romney? Rick Perry? Herman Cain? (In all three cases, the answer is probably yes.)

But there's likely to also be a wild card in this election. Americans
Elect, a well-funded "virtual third party," plans to put a centrist
presidential candidate on the ballot in all 50 states, and while he or
she is unlikely to win the presidential election, the presence of a
third candidate could still have a major impact on the outcome.

Americans Elect is a collection of Republicans, Democrats
and independents who say they're fed up with the polarization that has
poisoned American politics. Some of its backers have previously
contributed to Obama, Romney or other candidates. Several are fans of
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
who has flirted with the idea of running as a third-party centrist. The
group's central figure is Peter Ackerman, a wealthy investor and former
banker who considers himself an independent and who was active four
years ago in a similar effort called Unity08.

“We are creating competition for all these folks who are politically
homeless,” said Elliot Ackerman, Americans Elect’s chief operating
officer. “A lot of the folks that engage with us are socially liberal
and fiscally conservative, and those people don’t really have a voice in
our political system right now. What we’re doing is really creating an
incentive structure so that those individuals will be competed for.”

So far, the group has secured a spot on the ballot in six states, has
collected the required number of signatures in four states and has
about half the necessary signatures in four other states. Americans
Elect spokeswoman Ileana Wachtel said the group would begin the
petition process in seven more states within the week.

In California, organizers collected and submitted 1.6 million
signatures last week, more than have been collected for any one
initiative in the state’s history. California has until Nov. 2 to verify
those signatures and grant or deny Americans Elect a third-party spot
on the ballot.

Ackerman insisted his group is not a “third party” but a ”second way”
to nominate a president. Any registered voter can sign up online to be a
delegate. Delegates will then draft candidates and vote for their
nominee in May and June.

The eventual nominee can be a member of either party or an
independent but must chose a vice presidential running mate who is from a
different party. Ackerman said he expected many of the losing GOP
presidential candidates to move into the Americans Elect primary process
after Republicans chose their nominee.

There is sure to be a curiosity about Americans Elect, especially if it continues to draw media attention and to have more and more people join the movement. (And movement might not be the best term at this point.) But ultimately, just like the current "Occupy" movement, it will need to demonstrate that it can generate action and results.

For now, Americans Elect has potential. But it will need to become more.

Kennedy said he had been experiencing neck and shoulder pain for several
months, affecting his ability to sleep and leading to exhaustion. He
took a leave of absence earlier this month to restore his strength and
determine the cause of the problem.

In case you are wondering as to why I offered the reaction I did at the beginning of this post, no, I don't know Coach Kennedy. But it saddens whenever medical situations prevent coaches, players or the common man or woman from doing what they love to do.

Communiques from the Communist Party's Central
Committee, which held an annual meeting that ended last week, set the
broad direction for policy.

This
one made clear that leaders are looking for ways to better control, but
not snuff out, the microblog services that have become popular channels
for spreading news and opinion that can unsettle the government.

"Strengthen
guidance and administration of social Internet services and instant
communications tools, and regulate the orderly dissemination of
information," said the communique, which made no reference to microblogs
as such.

"Apply the law to sternly
punish the dissemination of harmful information," added the document.
It did not give details of what form firmer regulation may take.

The
announcement from the Party meeting builds on a stream of warnings in
state media that has shown Beijing is nervous about the booming
microblogs, called "weibo" in Chinese, and their potential to tear the
seams of censorship and controls.

Political censorship in this authoritarian state has long been
heavy-handed. But for years, the Communist Party has tolerated a
creeping liberalization in popular culture, tacitly allowing everything
from popular knockoffs of “American Idol”-style talent shows to freewheeling microblogs that let media groups prosper and let people blow off steam.

Now, the party appears to be saying “enough.”

Whether spooked by popular uprisings worldwide, a coming leadership
transition at home or their own citizens’ increasingly provocative
tastes, Communist leaders are proposing new limits on media and Internet
freedoms that include some of the most restrictive measures in years.

One can see the booming voice narrating a trailer for a (not-yet-made) movie: "The heavy-handed government is spooked! Now it fights back with everything it has! Can humanity survive!"

Beijing’s top television regulator said on Tuesday that it would cap
the number of entertainment programs that the nation’s 34 satellite
channels can air during prime time at two each week beginning next year.
In its statement, the State Administration of Radio, Film and
Television – known as Sarft – cited a desire to limit “excessive
entertainment” and “low taste.”

The new limits could mean curtains for a number of popular shows.
Like their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe, Chinese broadcasters
lean on talent shows, matchmaking shows and other reality programming to
draw eyeballs. But because Beijing’s limits are already strict, China
lacks gritty dramas such as “The Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad” or edgy
comedies like “The Simpsons,” so its commercial broadcasters rely even
more on reality programming.

Darn, and just when I was imagining Bart Simpson butting in as that aforementioned narrator boomed!

The blue-chip average crossed 12000 for the first time since August,
and is within 700 points of reaching its highest close in 2011. Indeed,
the Dow is nearly 1,400 points off of its 2011 lows. Meanwhile,
volatility plunged 16%, and yields on government debt rose, indicating
traders are rushing back into equity markets.

Financials were the best performers on the day, followed by energy
and basic materials shares. Defensive stocks, like healthcare and
consumer staples, however, lagged far behind the broader markets.

Wall Street
has been driven higher and lower by headlines from across the Atlantic
in recent months as market participants have fretted over the specter
that the euro zone debt crisis could spark another credit crunch and seize already fragile global economies.

Policymakers meeting at a summit in Brussels forged a deal early
Thursday morning that analysts say represents a major step forward for
the 17-member currency bloc.

The dollar took its biggest beating against a broad range of currencies
in 2-1/2 years on Thursday as investors celebrated Europe's plan to
contain its two-year-old debt crisis by dumping the safe-haven
greenback.

The dollar appeared the biggest
loser from the deal, which could refocus attention on weak U.S. budget
fundamentals. The U.S. currency fell two percent to a seven-week low
against the euro and slumped to a record low against the yen.

The
agreement to slash Greece's debt burden and strengthen the region's
financial rescue fund appeared to remove the specter of a crisis
spreading through the world's financial system.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index, a barometer of euro zone blue chips, closed up
6.1 percent, while the FTSE 100 index in London gained 2.9 percent. In
Paris, the main index was up 6.3 percent, while Frankfurt’s was 5.35
percent higher.

Financial shares led European indexes.

Hey, just think what might happen to stocks if the U.S. governmental leaders were able to hammer out a real deal to cut into the deficit, tighten spending and lower the unemployment rate, not to mention spur economic growth, strengthen laws to improve the environment, get infrastructure improvements....

West Virginia senator Joe Manchin believes that a colleague from Kentucky has some explaining to do. And Sen. Manchin is prepared to launch a Senate investigation to get the answers he wants.

The Washington Post reports that Mr. Manchin wants to know if the potential for West Virginia University joining the Big 12 conference is being undercut because Sen. Mitch McConnell wants the University of Louisville there.

In a statement Wednesday, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) suggested that
if reports are true that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
and other lawmakers have been putting pressure on Big 12 officials, a
congressional investigation may be warranted.

“If these outrageous reports have any merit – and especially if a
United States Senator has done anything inappropriate or unethical to
interfere with a decision that the Big 12 had already made – then I
believe that there should be an investigation in the U.S. Senate, and I
will fight to get the truth,” Manchin said. “West Virginians and the
American people deserve to know exactly what is going on and whether
politics is interfering with our college sports.”

To lecture McConnell or Manchin on the reasons why they were
ostensibly elected is a waste of time. They long ago learned the
ground rules of their business, and shame really plays no role.
Working old friends for favors is a job that never ends.

But this undermines the argument people make when someone says,
"The government ought to step in and do something about boxing,"
or, " ... lockouts" or, " ... player safety," or, " ... public
money provided for private stadium construction," or, [fill in
your favorite stalking horse].

You know, the
argument that says, "The government has more important things to
do," and "The government has no place legislating sports."

Truth is, the government is people, and people are about leverage,
and leverage is about personal relationships and making sure that
yesterday's guarantees are today's jolly fibs.

Now as a graduate of neither Louisville nor West Virginia, or even a
frequent visitor to either place, let me assure all of you that I
neither care whether they end up in the Big 12 or the Girl Scouts.
I've never had to muster the Pepto Bismol to vote for or against
either McConnell or Manchin. In short, I have no dog in this hunt,
and if I did, I would be taking it to the pound and leaving it
tied to the door knob that leads to the entrance.

But I know this. If something's important enough to a guy with an
office in Washington, that guy makes time, whether it's public
policy, private whim or just a good-natured neighbor-screwin'.
That pretty much eliminates the whole "The government shouldn't be
in the business of ..." argument.

U.S. economic growth increased at its fastest in a year in the third
quarter as consumers and businesses set aside fears about the recovery
and stepped up spending, creating momentum that could carry into the
final three months of the year.

Though part of the increase came
from the reversal of temporary factors that had restrained growth, the
expansion was a welcome relief for an economy that looked on the brink
of recession just weeks ago.

Despite the recent declines, applications are stuck above 400,000, where
they have been for all but two weeks since March. Applications need to
fall consistently below 375,000 to signal sustainable job growth. They
haven’t been below that level since February.

Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays Capital, said the report
suggests layoffs have stabilized at the lowest levels since the spring.
If growth picks up, it could boost hiring.

“The combination of better growth and a more certain environment could lead to a pickup in hiring in coming months,” he said.

"Coming months" is still too long a time for people looking for work, of course.
.

Political pressure on China from abroad to allow faster yuan
appreciation is unlikely to abate in the near future. A U.S. Senate bill
that would penalize China for its currency policies may be stalled in
the House of Representatives, but the U.S. presidential elections in
November 2012 are likely to keep the issue in the headlines for at least
the next year, with Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney already
pledging to declare China a currency manipulator.

Attempting to cut through the political bluster, the former U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson suggests in this editorial appearing on the BBC's Web site that the U.S. and China must work together to ensure that economic growth is possible around the world.

Beijing and Washington do not always need to work jointly. But they
do need to take steps - mostly individually, sometimes together - that
will support and sustain economic growth.

And to do that, Washington and Beijing will need a new
framework to guide their economic relations. Neither country can address
today's dynamic and considerable economic challenges with the policies
they have currently.

This week, a guest speaker from the Power of 32 organization spoke to two of my classes. She noted that one of the many difficulties in bringing together the disparate groups of politicians, for-profit industries and non-profit agencies is that they often don't speak the same language.

For example, she asked the students to consider the definition of "development." Then she told them that each of those aforementioned groups would define it differently.

For one, development means fundraising.

For another, it means building or constructing.

For yet another, it means training and supporting the professional growth of employees.

So, what does development mean to you? Yes, it means all of the definitions that I briefly described above. But I think the answer you provide suggests the kind of professional environment in which you might be most comfortable.

By the way, you should take the time to examine what the Power of 32 group is doing. And if you live in one of the 32 counties in which it is striving to develop a dialogue, then you should consider how you might get involved.

The Czech government has been given a firm warning from a domestic economic council. As Czech Position reports, the message is to prepare for some bad news.

The Czech government’s economic advisory council (NERV) has advised
Prime Minister Petr Nečas to support efforts to stabilize the eurozone
while warning the EU monetary union’s disintegration is a real
possibility; it also advised the creation of emergency budgetary
measures. Nečas said that to emerge from the debt crisis, the eurozone
needs fiscal discipline and measures to boost competitiveness.

“[NERV] in no way wants to say that there’s a catastrophe knocking at
the door, but we consider that we should advise the government to
prepare for one,” said Vladimír Dlouhý, a member of the council and a
former minister of industry and trade, who is also an advisor to Goldman
Sachs, at Tuesday’s meeting.

The Los Angeles Times reports in this breaking news alert that the city is considering putting limits on the "Occupy" group that is calling the area around City Hall "home."

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday that the Occupy Los Angeles
encampment outside City Hall "cannot continue indefinitely" and has
asked city officials to draft restrictions limiting when people are
allowed on city property. His staff said they are also looking for
another location for the protesters.
City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said an existing law bars people from
camping on city property after 10:30 p.m. Police should begin enforcing
that law "to protect the public health and safety of all residents,"
Trutanich said.

For the fifth year in a row, the percentage increase in average
published tuition and fees at public four-year colleges was higher than
it was at private ones, according to the report,
"Trends in College Pricing 2011." The report, released on Wednesday,
examines annual changes in colleges' sticker prices, as well as the net
prices students pay after grant aid and tax benefits are considered. A companion report,
"Trends in Student Aid 2011," looks at the money that helps students
meet those growing prices. (The pricing report looks at data through
this academic year, while the student-aid report has information through
2010-11.)

The average price for tuition and fees at public four-year colleges
was $8,244 for in-state students in 2011-12, up from $7,613 in 2010-11,
an 8.3-percent increase. That percentage change drops to 7.0 percent if
California—which had a 21-percent increase in tuition in that one-year
period—is excluded.

Even with steep hikes, the Cal State system's tuition and fees total
$6,521, still below the $7,186 national average for similar master's
degree campuses. UC's tuition and fees figure, about $13,200 this year,
is well above the national average of $9,185 for doctorate-granting
institutions, although UC leaders say it is on par with other top public
colleges.

At California's community colleges, this year's 37% tuition jump was the
steepest percentage increase in the nation, but actual tuition and fees
remain the lowest — $1,119 compared to an average of $3,288 for
two-year colleges in the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, the nation's private nonprofit four-year colleges raised
tuition and fees 4.5% this year, to a national average of $28,500. With
room and board, the price tag averaged $38,589, up 4.4% from last year.

Critics of college pricing have long complained that tuition rises much
faster than inflation, which was 3.6% for the year ending in July, and
that schools should try harder to rein in costs. In the last decade, the
percentage growth has moderated somewhat at private schools, averaging
2.6% above inflation annually, but has risen faster than in recent
decades at public four-year schools, to 5.6% annually above inflation.

Yes, government aid programs, including grants, are increasing, so the sky-rocketing tuition and associated fees (plus, where appropriate, room and board) might not be paid solely by the student. But there is little doubt that more students are delaying their entry into college, going part-time or relying more on loans to help them meet their financial obligations.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

As you read this story from the Los Angeles Times, please keep in mind that the judge who released the names of the jurors involved in the Casey Anthony murder trial did the right thing. Those names are part of the public record associated with the trial.

The sad reality is that our society is at a level of incivility that people who do their civic duty are afraid for their safety because of the public's rage.

Jurors were either unavailable or didn’t want to talk to the media
Tuesday when a judge released their names, three months after they found
Anthony not guilty in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. In
the days since the verdict, Anthony and the jurors received death
threats and angry messages were posted online. Many people across the
nation thought the jurors let a guilty woman go free.

Anthony went into hiding, and it appears jurors have done the same thing.

I could care less whether you think Casey Anthony is guilty. Your opinion (and mine, too) is irrelevant -- the jury has spoken. That's it, and (murder) case closed. Of course, you can continue to hold your personal opinion; however, the moment you decide that you're going to act on it in a way that breaks the law, then you had better be prepared to deal with the effects.

The 12 men and women who acquitted Anthony did their civic duty. In our democracy, that's supposed to be one of the highest and most respected forms of citizenship.

Consuming news is one of the most popular activities, up there with
e-mail and more popular than social networking. Only general
Web-browsing proved more popular on tablets than news and e-mail.

Even
so, just 14 per cent of tablet users said they have paid for news
content on their tablets. Another 23 per cent, though, pay for a print
subscription that includes tablet content. So in all, about a third of
tablet users have paid to access news on their gadgets.

Tablets represent a growing segment, but they are just one facet of
the larger issue of delivering news and generating revenue with digital
journalism. The combination of mobile devices--smartphones and tablets--and
social networks like Facebook and Twitter have completely altered the
way people get, consume, and share information, and traditional print
media needs to adapt or get left behind.

I don't agree that users are unwilling to pay for news. I think
users are unwilling to pay to receive a print publication they don't
want just for the privilege of accessing the same information digitally.
I also think users expect the digital news to take advantage of the
capabilities of devices like tablets and not simply copy and paste the
print news into an app.

There are traditional print resources, like Time, that have awesome
apps that embrace the unique features of the iPad. The articles are
more engaging and interactive, and link to additional content that can
expand my understanding of the topic.

It is a step in the right direction, and the apps are definitely
worth paying for. They just need to find a way to deliver the app
content at a reasonable cost that doesn't include forcing users to also
subscribe to the print edition.

The mind set that an individual brings to his or her tablet use appears critical here. If you think of yourself as someone who gets news and information for free, then the thought of paying in general or being forced to do so through an app specifically is going to lead to frustration. For news organizations, more and more people see themselves as just that -- information seekers and finders who do so with no financial commitment.

Unless and until that attitude can be adjusted, the media are going to struggle. And consumers are going to rebel.

The Big 12 is adding West Virginia because of its football strength,
having finished in the BCS standings of the nation's top 25 teams in
four of the past five years, as well as the men's basketball program
having reached the NCAA tournament six of the past seven years.

The Big East could try to keep West Virginia for up to 27 months and negotiations on that point would figure to ensue.

West Virginia thus becomes the third football-playing institution that over the past few weeks has ditched the Big East. Syracuse and Pittsburgh are on their way to the Atlantic Coast Conference. (And Texas Christian bolted for the Big 12 even though it was scheduled to join the Big East next year.)

What is next for the Big East? The same ESPN story suggests:

A source has told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that the conference
commissioners of the Big East, Mountain West and Conference USA are
expected to meet in New York. According to multiple reports, the three
leagues are considering forming a single football league of 28 to 32
teams.

The Big East's plan was to send conditional invitations to
Houston, Southern Methodist and Central Florida for all sports, and to
Air Force and Boise State for football only, a source has told Katz.

The
conference's plan to expand to 12 members also includes Navy as a
football-only member, though that has not been made public by the
league.

I'm trying to come up with a name for that monstrosity. The Big Mountain Conference? The USA East and West Conference? The Blob?